I Used To Play Video Games But Now I Don't

Right now it is 8.42pm on Monday night. I was supposed to be playing a video game.

An exercise game to be precise. Using Kinect on the Xbox One. I put the disc in. Another day one update: 2.1 GB. Of course. I should be used to this by now. How long is this going to take? Difficult to say with my internet connection.

Oh, wait. Great. Just great. Now the Xbox One won’t let me download the update for some reason. Now I can’t download the update or play the game. A hard reset doesn’t fix the problem. Just another great night in with Xbox One.

And the PS4? The PS4 isn’t that much better, but once in a while I have managed to turn it on and play a video game within 30 minutes. That happens every once in a while. The Xbox One? Someone should set a stopwatch: time from ‘on’ to ‘want to launch throw nearest window’ – roughly 30 seconds. No console before or since has managed to consistently frustrate me on the same level.

Here is my current situation. I can’t play the video games I want to play. I can’t play Halo: The Master Chief Collection, for example, because it won’t let me download the update. Now I can’t play the exercise game for the same reason (turns out a whole bunch of people are having the same issue – read here).

Welcome to console gaming in 2014.

Friends, kindly allow me a tangent. Last night, on Sunday, I attended a wedding. This wedding was like any other you can imagine. You know the drill: you sit at a table, you talk to strangers. “What do you do?”

Eventually, because of my job the conversation would occasionally turn to video games.

“Oh, I used to play video games, but now I don't.”

I heard that exact same quote from two separate people. Their stories were remarkably similar. They used to play games, now they don’t. One complained about the fragmentation of PC gaming – the need to have Origin to play EA Games when he just wanted to play on Steam, issues with Ubisoft’s uPlay. “How am I supposed to remember all those usernames and passwords? I can’t even remember my pin number.”

The second person: he didn’t have time essentially. But complained that when he did have time he always had to download updates on his PS3. Then the games required updates. Most of you understand the quandary: when you only have a spare hour of leisure time in your day, every second counts. A series of updates might actually ruin your planned night of gaming.

I’m not really sure that Microsoft, and to a lesser extent Sony, understands that.

“Remember when you just put a cartridge in your SNES and you were playing within seconds?”

I hear that phrase a lot and usually it rankles. Video games have irrevocably changed. We can never go back to the ‘good old days’ and I’m not sure I’d want to. Video games are productions on a grander scale, and updates are often a good thing. Don’t get me wrong: I like online gaming, I like being able to purchase and stream content from online stores and these are services that require constant maintenance. I understand that.

But a 2.1 GB update for a bloody exercise game? The kind of game aimed at a generalist, mainstream audience? We’re starting to cross a line here. We have a video game console that, in my experience, seems to be constantly making it difficult to play actual video games. We have fragmented PC services that are more concerned with servicing the needs of specific publishers instead of consumers.

As an industry, video games are creating more and more obstacles for players when we should be harnessing the power of technology to remove them.

And conversely, as an audience we’re getting older. As a result life is throwing obstacles in our way and we’re constantly fighting to remove them. As adults with responsibilities free time is at a premium. We’re working long hours, we’re looking after children, we have exams, we have houses to clean, lawns to mow, assignments to complete. We’re no longer children dilly dallying with our legs under the table with an entire day’s worth of time to kill.

Our free time is a valuable commodity. Does the games industry not understand that it has to fight for that free time? That it has to compete? Currently the games industry is treating its consumer base like it has nothing better to do except sit around and wait. That is not the case: we could be watching incredible television, we could be playing cheap mobile games, we could be messing around on Facebook, we could be exercising.

Think of the audience video games could have.

Have we ever had a more computer literate, video game literate population than we have at this precise time, in this precise moment? We have droves of people just waiting to graduate from mobile/facebook games to consoles, but the current situation is not a welcoming one. It’s a brutally difficult, frustrating experience and it’s driving people away. It’s driving existing gamers away, people like my friends from the wedding:

“I used to play video games, but now I don't.”

Once upon a time I thought that phrase was the result of a false perception -- a marketing hangover, basically -- the idea that games were for children. Now I wonder if gaming has pushed players away and in the process stopped itself from growing as an industry.

It’s now 10.15pm. I’ve given up on the update. I’ve tried everything and it just won’t download. My wife is now watching television. I’m on YouTube. I am not playing video games.

Comments

I've actually got plenty of time and update my consoles/titles religiously, despite rarely playing most of them. It's not usually a problem for me, but I'm single with no kids. Can only imagine how this would impede on the gaming time of someone who does.

Strangely enough the biggest reason I play less games these days is... I just don't want to? I play games for almost as much time as I used to, I just have less time for as many different titles. I end up buying all these new AAA releases, and probably only play one out of 10 for longer than 30 minutes. I just buy them, and really don't end up playing them. It's the damndest thing. I've got plenty of time, I just can't be arsed.

I used to buy and play ALL the things - now, I just buy them out of habit, I think.

I always end up back on open ended/sandbox games like MMOs, or Breaking Point.

I sold my Xbone some time ago, and I can't even remember the last time I turned my PS4 on. It's either PC for me, or a handheld when I want to flake out somewhere.

You buy them because you're hitching a ride on the hype train. It's a dangerous beast. You should jump off at your next opportunity.

The gaming media wants us to believe that there's a great value in being a "gamer" that buys and plays a very long list of AAA games, and that they need to buy and play them at the point of release to be "at the party".

I kind of tried to be at the party in the 7th generation, having bought dozens of games on Day 1 in the knowledge that they'll be traded in shortly there after.

The danger is that you end up pushing yourself through, and rushing through games that you don't necessarily enjoy.

It is much better to play those games that you enjoy and get comfortable with, in my opinion. Still, marketing doesn't work that way.

And the PS3 I set to download my updates automatically between 2am and 8am each morning (my iinet off peak quota) which means in the last 6 months I have *never* once had to wait for an update to download when I want to play. Not sure if the PS4 has the same thing?

The PS4 can download updates automactically as well, but not at a specific timeframe anymore. However if it is a firmware upgrade, you need to agree to the TOS so its still a manual install.
I love my PS4 but not being able to use my offpeak quota is one my biggest first world problems as I drink quota like water.

I do this too, but (and it's a big one) it DOESN'T work unless you already have the game installed. So if you pull a game out of your pile of shame and go to play it, chances are you'll have to wait for the update. I'm not bagging the PS+ background or scheduled updating - it's awesome - but it does have that limitation unfortunately. Not sure how you'd get around that one...

I'm not sure what you're doing differently, but I haven't had to wait for a patch on a previously installed game since launch on the XBOX One. It does them automatically in the background while the machine is sleeping, then they get a little white flag in the corner of their icon with a green dot in the middle. [Edit: I think that's what the flag means, it might mean there's new DLC available, but I get it on the Fable Legends beta as well.]
Granted I still agree with the basic premise of the article. I don't think I know anybody who played their XBOX One on the first night they owned it. It was all just browsing apps and waiting. I understand why that's the case but it's still pretty crazy. The PS4 is better thanks to Sony realising it was one of the biggest PS3 critisms, but that sort of makes it more worrying. I mean Sony really put a lot of thought into making the PS4 go from putting the disc in to playing as quickly as possible. They really did some great work there and yet it still falls short. Where could they go from the PS4? Could games come with a pre-loading code I can enter into my phone to start my XBOX One/PS4 games installing the moment I purchase the game in store? Would that really make a huge difference?

Personally I'm hoping Nintendo bring cartridges back with their next console. I mean a Blu-Ray disc isn't that big compared to a modern microSD card, it's really just a matter of making them cheap to produce, so why not go down that path and see what happens? It's not like their consoles have DVD/Blu-Ray players that depend on the disc tray.

I did this religiously for like two years on all my devices and it made a MASSIVE difference to my power bill. Like, $70-80 a quarter.
When you're a struggling uni student right on the borderline of outight poverty, every little bit counts.

Try once a week just switching it over to instant on with the downloads going over night.. Get up 2 mins early the next day and switch it off. That way the impact on your bill is very little, while most of your updates are done for when you want to play.

Also a heads up, I leave my x1 in "instant on" in the settings 100% of the time, but when I'm actually done with it for the play session, I get up and switch the console off by holding the on/off button on the front of the console till I audibly hear it turn off, putting it in full shut down mode.

Steam gets this right. I leave steam open all day so it takes me less than a minute to be playing any of the games that I want to play.

Given that I use a laptop for local multiplayer (traditionally the domain of consoles), and a decent desktop PC does everything else (that I want anyway), I honestly don't see why anyone buys consoles anymore*.

Glorious PC gaming master race used to be a comment on the arrogance of PC gamers (and still is), but these days I think its pretty accurate.

*I understand why people buy Nintendos - as they are really the only console make that gets that consoles are great for local light-hearted multiplayer. And indeed a Wii U is the only current gen console I would consider buying.

My only problem with steam is not steam itself, rather just Dota2, there are so many freaking updates for that game, 90% for shop crap that you will likely never ever see, so annoying to me that I have completely stopped playing it.
I was playing it all the time, but eventually got completely sick of every single time wanting to have a quick game after work, but no, please wait X amount of time while another 300mb+ download, which fixes 2 or 3 bugs, and MOST of the content is more shop crap.
But I don't blame steam, just Dota2 (despite them both being Valve..).
The shop stuff should all just reside on the servers, and if you are going to be playing a game on a server where someone is using a shop item you haven't already downloaded, it should just quickly download that stop item as required, rather than everyone having to download everything in the shop all the time it is updated.
Really has annoyed me to the point I haven't touch the game and turned off auto-updates about 5 months ago. I dread if I check for updates again and it will be asking for like 5-6 gigs of update... all shop no doubt.
I realise its a free game and the money is made from the shop, but there should be a better way to do it than have everyone download every single shop item 'just in case'.

I've been hesitant because I always seem to face issues with PC games. Recently I've tried to use my Logitech controller, but it doesn't work that well with some games, and the batteries die out overnight - I'm probably not turning it off correctly but it's happened 3 times so I can't be bothered any more.

My i7 with 8gb RAM and 2GB graphics card non gaming notebook crashed whilst playing Age of Booty of all things.

But still, it's a learning process and I think it's probably worth learning how to over come these issues. My notebook is coming up to a couple of years old now and works well with many 7th gen games including F1 2012 and Saints Row 3, so I suspect it will handle most 7th games that Steam will want to throw at me - once I get better at figuring out a controller solution (should I look into connecting my PS3 controller?) and configuring it etc.

Xbox 360 controller is the best controller for PC that I have used. Had a Logitech sort of PlayStation thing but it was a pain. Friend has used a PS3 controller but for what we were using it for we had to use third party config tools which can troublesome.

I ended up just buying a 360 controller and haven't regretted it at all. Been playing a lot of local MP games with it on my laptop (like Nidhogg, mount your friends and Battleblock Theatre). 360 Controller is very windows friendly and a lot of games are designed for compatibility for it.

If you can get a hold of an old xbox 360 controller, you can buy the dongle from China for about $4 online and it works perfectly. Usually MS charges $60 or more for the controller with a first party dongle. It takes seconds to set up, works natively in windows and 90% of games support it, too.

For console-y games, I use in-home streaming from my desktop to my Surface Pro 3. I plug the XBOX dongle into the surface and use my 50 inch UHD TV as a video output. It's like having a console, but with better graphics and I still have my proper desktop for games I ant to use KB+M for.

Yeah, that sounds like a nice setup. A little too complicated for me, and I don't have a secondary PC / tablet to do the connection / streaming to a big screen - but I can see that in a year or two with a little bit of research and planning that this kind of thing can easily come together.

I think I've bought 3 humble bundles in the last couple of weeks so my Steam collection now rivals my PS3 collection, but the games won't ever become last gen and unplayable, and I don't have to pay $80 a year to continue to access them.

As much as I love Playstation I'beginning to wonder if PS3 will be my last, or perhaps my last focal point. I'm sure I'll get the PS4 but I'm really seeing no reason to get one until towards the end of it's life when the console, and more importantly, the games are super cheap.

Yeah maybe I'll get a 360 controller. Yeah I have the wireless logitech playstation looking controller and it's problematic. I've just ordered the wired version as it was cheap, so I'll give that a go.

What about the PS4 controller - does that work perfectly or near perfectly with PC games? I'm a Playstation guy so my preference would be for the PS4 controller.

At least those guys don't seem like they'd be buying the games any more. So there's kind of a "vote with your wallet" thing going on. As opposed to someone like me, whose go-to line is "I don't play games. I just buy 'em."

That said I try to keep my gaming life as free of all these tetherings as I can. If a game requires Steam, or Origin, or uPlay, then I just won't buy it. Humble Store DRM-free or bust. And since I don't bother playing anything online, my 3DS for example solely relies on on-cart updates for those to come through. Won't touch the eShop or buy any DLC. There's plenty of content piling up on my shelves to have to bother with any of that.

Any time anyone wants to complain that piracy is ruining the games industry, I only need to point to my percentage of Steam games not played. The number of games I've bought and not played, I'm easily subsidizing a horde of spotty teen pirates.

I'll join you on that with my list of "not played" on Steam, UPlay and GoG. Also, all those unplayed PS3 Games in my cabinet, plus the Spotify subscription I don't use, and all the Blu-Ray movies I've never watched, but for some reason felt the need to collect.

(I realise Spotify only pays for plays, but I still pay for streaming music if I ever wanted to use it).

The problem with the gaming industry always comes back to publishers. Whether it would be forcing developers to release a game months before it's ready or cramming DLC/microtransactions down your throat, it's always their decision.

Publishers are only evil as long as they're enforcing creative control, protectionist mechanics which affect gameplay and delivery, and are bankrolling developers.

Take away the role of publishers as extortionate money-lenders who ensure a dev can pay rent and buy food while working on something that isn't earning any money yet, in exchange for their IP rights, creative freedom, and/or soul, and leave them as just another contractor hired by a competent project manager to perform a service.

This - like in television in Australia where it is difficult to make things without creative meddling by producers to make something more like "what the audience wants" (i.e. Shaun Micallef Tonight on Ch. 9 - he was stifled because he couldn't do any of his satirical stuff), I think that period of difficulty has reached Video Games.

Why else would Indie dev's, who forgo a lot of the traditional publishers to get a game out, are being so creative and amazing in their games at the moment?

On the other hand Publishers do also provide certainty (mostly financially) to ensure a product is finished, and often at a far higher polish than the studio could have done themselves.

Record labels for music, too.
Only instead of ensuring creation (musicians will always, always, always make music - no matter if they get paid or not. That's what defines a musician; if you don't make music unless you're getting paid, you're not a musician), labels ensured distribution.

Which used to be hard... and now it's not. Which means that they have no real purpose, and they hate that and would prefer no-one realize that.

As a professional musician who sometimes doesn't make music when I'm not being paid, I think your definition of a musician is a little off, or at least overly purist.

Labels, probably purely due to contacts and experience, still know how to get your music out to more people than you would otherwise. And they have lots of money, which often you need. So alas, the labels are still required, at least for the time being

Holy balls! You mean I wasn't the only one that watched this? You don't by any chance remember the "month of alan jones in 1 minute" sketch do you? That was awesome. For some reason Shaun was never able to find a big audience on any of his many attempts (except TAYG i guess which doesn't really count), which is sad because I'm a big fan :(.

If i'm lucky I get some spare time late at night. The other night I thought I would get some quick game time in with Far Cry 4. Then the PS4 update was required and then game update .. I tried to skip so I could play but by the end I gave up - time for bed

You know how it tells you how many blocks it will take? My rule of thumb is divide by 8 to convert to MB. It's not quite 8 from my calcs (it's like 7.8 from memory, NPI) but it gives you an estimate.
Say it's 1500 blocks, that makes about 188MB.

Actually you can hit the start software button anyway, continue to play it and the download updates in the background. Sure you won't be able to play online without the patch but you can still play the game. When the update is done then just restart the game. You can do this with any Wii U title.

You can do this with the PS3 and PS4 as well. Yes, it blocks online access, but that's no different to not having the most recent BF4 patch on PC, so I can't see why people have such a problem with this.

Last night I had an hour of spare time and was sitting at the computer. Was just me home, and I said to myself "Hey, I can play some games!"

Then I sat browsing Steam, looking at my library. "I don't want to play something deeply involved... I want something I can just jump in and play for an hour without thinking. Maybe a puzzle game... But I don't have any installed... Maybe a new on on sale!?... No, then I'd have to download it."

I think it's unfair to single out the xbox one here, the PS4 has just as many updates that take just as long. It's gaming in general that has hit this problem. Even steam drives me crazy, with not having a button to stop all background updates unless I run the game (as fas as I could find on their forums a couple months back I'd have to open each games properties individually and set it) it seems to have 4-8 games downloading auto updates every time I open it,

Yeah, I get that. I honestly do think it's a general problem. I just use my PS4 more often which might be part of the problem. It was the same last gen when I used my 360 more often. It felt like every time I turned on my PS3 there was an update to download.

Yeah that's true I guess. That's part of what annoys me with my steam account, I have so many games I've bought that I will rarely if ever play yet every time I open steam it seems like I have a bunch of games I don't care about trying to use all my bandwidth. I guess if you are using it more often it wouldn't be updating as often. I'm happy that sites like Kotaku are publishing articles about this though, some of the other sites seem to turn a blind eye to not upset publishers.

Probably a bit late for you now, but each game has an "auto-update" option to turn this off if you never play the game or simply don't care for it to be updated automatically. I think right click it in your library and it should show you an option like that.

I had both the 360 and the PS3 and I used to HATE every time I had to power the PS3 up because updates took forever, new game installs took forever... the only thing that was quick about the PS3 was watching Blu-Rays. The 360 on the other hand was a joy to use, updates and installs rarely took more than a few minutes to do.

BAM! Out comes the Xbox One and it now takes FOREVER to install updates / play games. The only thing that has let me keep my sanity is that I recently got 100mb internet, but I know a lot of friends who have <5mb internet connections, which essentially means they have to skip this generation or wait until faster internet arrives!

It literally doesn't though. I have both and i've hit far more problems with updates on my XBOX One than my PS4. They're generally MUCH bigger on One and have significant problems even getting them to download at a reasonable speed or even just successfully. I don't think it's widespread or anything but his experience almost completely echoes mine. Not looking to favour a console but how the hell is it unfair to state one's personal experience?

Wow, I was just having this conversation a few days ago, when I brought Smash 4 to a friend's house. I was hyped up to play, but he hadn't used the Wii U in some time. It went a little like this.

"Let's play Smash 4!"
...
"Okay, seems like we need an update. Already?"
"Well, it has been out in the states for a few weeks, I think."
"Alright..."
...
"Okay, actually we need to download a system update before we can download the software update."

40 minutes, a few rounds of Uno and some slow internet later and we were off.
That's just Nintendo, but it's pretty accurate to everything these days.
If you have a decent sized Steam library, you'll probably be downloading patches on a weekly basis.
The Master Chief Collection announced pre-release that there'd be a 21GB day 1 update, and weeks and many patches later, it still doesn't work right (correct me if I'm wrong here).
That's probably the most hyperbolic example, but it's all representative of the era we live in now.
Games get pushed out ASAP, and because they're so huge these days, a lot of bugs or errors don't get detected until they go live. Or they do get detected and the developers are too bad or under too much pressure to get the game out, and we get Sonic Boom.

That said, I wouldn't want to live in a world without patches. I mean, I'd prefer a world where games are perfect once they're for sale, but it's better than a world where problems don't get fixed at all.

I've been using my Wii U all year, until about October/November due to other releases and commitments. That's when the system update dropped, which I was also missing when I tried to play Smash. The actual title update can be skipped though, unless you want to play online.

There should be nothing stopping you from playing a game just because a patch is out. For a hosted MP game sure having people on different versions would be a nightmare and acceptable to force an update.
But for an SP game there should be no reason you can't choose to play an unpatched version. Finish gaming and then kick off the update. No single player game needs forced updates

That's exactly how Nintendo does it. Never had to wait to play a game. It says "There is an update available". I just play the game anyway. Next time I go to play it it has become "Update is ready" and takes a minute to install, then back to the game.

I've never really experienced this problem with the PS4 - all my games are digital and it downloads updates for everything for me while it's in standby. In fact, being able to jump onto the app on my phone while at work, buy a game, and have it be downloaded and ready to go when I get home is really quite cool. Maybe my expectations are different.

I think more people will be going digital due to the fact that a game will work off a disc less and less often now. Maybe it is part of publishers testing the tolerances of the market, but I'm sure the likes of EA, Activision and Ubisoft would love people to go digital instead of retail, as it means more money for them.

I was having this discussion with my wife last night, she was playing some mobile game while waiting for me to have my shower. I looked at her gaming away, and said the exact words, "You know, I used to play a ton of games, but now I don't."
The last game on my phone was Clash of Clans, but I deleted it months ago, as it became work, it made me play when I didn't want to, and didn't allow me to play (without costing extra money) when I did want to.
Updates on the 360, and a flaky DVD drive have meant it hasn't gotten a run in months, the updates and releasing of broken games lead to me returning the XBox One. The lack of LAN play means I don't take it around to my mate's place for some same room multiplaer.
The PC is just pissing me off with performance issues (and it is a 6 core with a 4GB 970, not a total POS) , and it is in a different room, so I really don't game on it anymore, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of work I should be doing instead. I end up coming here in my free moments and reading about gaming instead of playing games. I have a backlog of games that have never been opened.

I'm a parent, and my free time has a lot of competition, mostly the kids, and gaming has just gotten too hard/inconvenient, when it used to be the *most* convenient thing to do.
VR is only going to make that worse, not better. I don't know what the answer is, but the 3DS was the last thing I played a game on, pop the cart in, and play. When and where I want.

If I were you I'd buy a wiiu. (If you don't have one already) it has the best selection of local multiplayer and family friendly games right now ( mario 3d world, mario kart and smash bros) with splatoon and mario party coming next year to add to that. In addition there are older versions of cod and FIFA that work fine if your into that. The game pad will allow you to play in the lounge room and not take up the TV. And there is a huge selection of snes and nes games on virtual console that you can't buy anywhere else.

Ps it's also backward compatible with controllers and wii games so you should be able to get a huge selection used for next to nothing since everyone and their grandma owned a wii

I'll get down voted for this but maybe it's just a matter of better time management.

eg
1) Do something else while waiting for the download. Watch TV or make dinner.
2) Regularly turn on your console to let it automatically update. The PS3 and PS4 can be set to automatically turn off after a period of inactivity - so switch it on before going to bed.
3) Play on your previous gen console if the current gen console needs to download.

These won't solve everything especially when there's a huge patch but it'll make it less painful.

I won't downvote you but from my perspective 'better time management' feels way too much like planning my day around the hobby I use to unwind and relax. I don't have huge problems with it because most stuff gets updated automatically, but with three consoles, a PC, both Sony and Nintendo hand helds, piles of games, it would be a full time job to keep even half of this stuff up to date manually.

That's all well and good, though it begs the question. (Yes, I am using BTQ as both the literal sense and as the fallacy) Why should we as the consumer have to be compensating for the poor management of others? While you will never get all bugs fixed before release, the onus is still on the production company to do their best to not let the game ship with problems or implement a non-intrusive patching system that doesn't throw responsibility back to the consumer.

But they can fix all the bugs before release, very few companies bother to do it but it is possible.

Why not delay a game a month to iron out the last problems? And than you hear stories about execs in the game industry deleting bug databases to get a bonus and then shipping a buggy mess. While the consumer screams at the Developers for not removing the bugs or asks why they didn't beta test. They wanted to remove the bugs, they knew about them. They just had to push the game out the door before it was ready.

No other industry would do this, I can't see people being told you've been a learner for 12 months you can barely control a car, but here's your P License, we'll patch in the necessary instruction later.

Or the movie industry dropping the big block buster but putting the other half of the special effects in on the DVD/Blu Ray release.

The game industry has chosen this model of out the door, fix it later. And we as the consumer are either being kept in the dark by review embargoes or don't care because we want our new shiny now and not when the proper fixes have been made.

My issue is everything I want to play has an online component and since the Storm in Brisbane on Thursday my phone line goes down every 30 mins. And yes it's impossible to call Telstra about this problem as I need to spend longer than 30 minutes on hold.

Excellent article. One of the best I've read on the topic in a long while. You touch on a few interesting points, Mark. Without going into it with too much depth, I think this speaks volumes of the ways in which gaming has actually, ironically, become less accessible in some ways.

This is the future - cloud gaming. On paper its fantastic, the consumer wins in every respect. Problem is, the concept is still young, too young to be thrown out on its own. Like an awkward teenager, its still finding it's feet. A lot of things have to gel for it to see its full potential, the main ones being: better planning and foresight from the developers in regards to their cloud-focused development, and a stronger more consistent internet access across the majority of the user base. Until we hit that point, which could be another few years, then we'll continue to have issues like those faced by people trying to play Destiny, GTAV, Drive Club, Halo and more.

I'm sure we'll get to a point where it's all awesome and we're ultimately grateful for it eventually, but right now it feels like it was a bit too early for the developers to take off the training wheels.

The problem is that with the potential benefits, it's pushed a lot more risk onto the end consumer - for now it comes down to nothing more than trust that companies can get the balance right between consumer benefit and efficiency / cost cutting.

Bet those same people who "used to play video games" play games on their phone. I sometimes play a quick round of - Kingdom Rush, Ticket to Ride, Small World, FTL - on an iPad while waiting for the PS4 to load. I consider both gaming...perhaps not specifically video gaming.

Same thing TV/movie people are failing to understand. Consumers have priorities and not all of them are price. You CAN compete with free, which is why TV/movie people are losing hard to pirates who provide a more reliable product, faster, on more platforms, with no geo-blocking, unskippable studio credits/ads/trailers, portable, installable on any number of devices...

The same is true of the publishers, each scrambling to create the next Steam. Humble, GoG, Origin, uPlay, and the less successful pretenders like Impulse.

Why do people get upset when titles are only available on one platform?

How would you feel if you couldn't do your grocery shopping in one store. If you want to get milk, you now have to drive to the milk store. Sure, it's just down the road from the grocery shop, so it's not like it's the end of the world. But just try it, dairy farmers. Try that and see what happens. It's OK for there to be a butcher next to the grocery store, but NOT OK for the butcher to demand that the grocery store's Deli has to shut down and meat can ONLY be sourced from the butcher.

Not to mention the fact that everyone needs their own separate login or account. For fuck's sake, I have to remember (not write down) fully THIRTEEN unique usernames and passwords in regular use every day at work. And at home, multiple email accounts (for different purposes), half a dozen gaming enthusiast websites, Steam, Origin, Humble, GoG, banking, insurance, tax, Apple, two fucking dozen MMOs, plus every other brand new game which thinks that account-managed forced online is the best solution to piracy, shoe-horning online requirements where they do nothing to benefit the customer experience, just the publisher's peace of mind. FUCK THAT.

I HAVE FIVE UNIQUE AUTHENTICATOR/RSA TOKENS INSTALLED ON MY FUCKING PHONE.

I'll agree that they do nice sales and freebies but I still can't stop seeing it as bait for a trap. Something to help them capture a share of the market with the long term goal of making users dependent on their system so that dependence can be exploited. Even if exploitation isn't the goal today, once in that position it's only a matter of time before the potential is brought up and it's not the sort of organisation that turns down potential revenue streams.

Personally, I see it more as a way of cutting out the middle man. And that's understandable. If you CAN host your own files and distribute them, why not do that and avoid paying the 30% of the sale to Valve as the middle man?

The problem I have is when stuff is Origin-exclusive. That's when they're forcing you to go to two different stores. That's when they're being consumer-unfriendly.

I'm all for direct sales options but I feel like exclusivity and the advantages of having consumers locked into their system are the goal of Origin. Less cutting out the middle man and more inserting themselves as their own middle man where one isn't needed. Full disclosure, I made a shitload of money this week by acting as the middle man. I don't think it's wrong, I just have some pretty big reservations about signing myself up to be in a position where EA hold all the cards.

I have to shop at Coles and Woolworths for some stupid reason because while I can do the majority of my shopping at either both have small amounts of things I can only get from one or the other.

And to be clear the products are store specific and from companies like Masterfoods, Hans and Cotties. Hell Coles and Woolworths sometimes have the same product but exclusively sized. What madness is this.

I had a stint a few months ago where I just got bored with my PS4. I'd pop a game in and within 20 minutes I was bored and went to do something else. I stopped playing for about a week.
Then I decided to take my SNES out of the cupboard and play some Yoshi's Island. Every night I was playing for multiple hours and after I finished Yoshi's Island, I moved on to the Donkey Kong Country trilogy.
It was like I had forgotten how to have fun and my SNES rekindled that sense of fun I got from video games again. Still haven't touched my PS4 since then and I've moved onto playing Smash 4 WiiU now and still having fun.

Anyway, I agree that there is too much in the way to get to the 'fun' we have with games and the near instant injection of fun I got from those SNES games showed me that I still love playing video games... It just takes a little longer to get to that inner core of pure fun in most games today which is a shame thinking about it now.

Can you not just skip the updates on ps4 / xbone? I cant remember the last time I actually bothered downloading a patch for a console game. Unless there's some game-breaking bug I don't tend to bother (I only play online multiplayer games on PC). I just cancel the d/l and go on playing?

If any one thing about The Last Jedi has been contentious -- actually, no, strike that, everything about The Last Jedi has been contentious, including its approach to space combat (the Holdo Manoeuvre, anyone?). But according to one fan and critic, Rian Johnson's epic actually makes space combat in the Star Wars universe more explicable, not less.